Bulldog coaches visit Harrisburg Kiwanis

The Harrisburg Kiwanis Club held its weekly meeting on Aug. 11, where the guests were HHS head football coach Matt Griffith and varsity assistant coach Josh Allen.

Coach Griffith began the presentation with a brief personal history. After graduating from Marion High School, he played football at SIU while earning a degree in education. He currently lives in Galatia and has taught history at HHS for six years.

For the upcoming season, Griffith said the first four games will be at home. He said new opponents will be added to Harrisburg's schedule this year.

There are also plans to bring back the blackout game to raise money for cancer research and plans for a military recognition game.

Griffith said his objectives are twofold, "to build young men and win championships." He believes this can be accomplished through hard work and accountability.

Athletes are assigned chores before and after practices so they may learn responsibility and teamwork.

Griffith said he also is hoping to get the community involved more. Recently the National Guard worked with the Bulldogs with the goal of team building and strengthening. The Harrisburg Fire Department shot water at the athletes during exercises.

Harrisburg High school employs three coaches, and all the other coaches are volunteers. This shows the importance of the program to individuals in the community.

The coaches talked about updates to the stadium in line with the American Disabilities Act.

The coaches said they hope the Harrisburg community will come out to Taylor Field to support the Bulldogs this fall.